When a mother saw a filthy, homeless beggar on the street corner and realized he was her long-lost son, her heart broke. It was the same dear boy who had left her behind when she was disabled and needed him most.
Gracie was really grateful to the sky for their benevolence after such a demanding and grueling day. Gracie, 47, felt fortunate that the raindrops had ceased when she left the gym in a new area on a wet evening. She had traveled to the distant town to teach her yoga students for the day and cover for her close friend Diana.
A little beggar was seated close by as she stood at the bus stop, despite the cold and tried not to let her teeth chatter. The man gazed sadly into the alms bowl in front of him, his frail body covered in a frayed blanket. Gracie didn’t hesitate to grab her purse and offer him some change so he could get a warm lunch.
But she felt a shiver go down her spine as she stepped closer to the person, and she froze there. Her face turned pale, like if she’d witnessed a ghost. When Gracie saw the man, her heart began to race so quickly that she thought it may stop beating.
Upon seeing her son, who was now reduced to begging for scraps on the street, she cried, “Tyler? Is it REALLY you?” The beggar tried to cover his face from the mother he had abandoned three years prior when she was disabled, but he recoiled in astonishment.
How was he going to forget that face? How was it possible for him to miss that voice? And how could he forget that tragic night, when he learned of his mother’s accident, three years ago?
Your mother carried your weight in her pregnancy, therefore you were never a burden to her. Never give her the impression that she is a burden to you.
The night of December 23, it was cold. At a party, Tyler, 24, was having a good time, making jokes and laughing with his friends while making out with unidentified girls. His phone began to buzz all of a sudden, but he ignored it.
He looked down and noticed an unknown number flashing on his cell phone screen, whispering, “Whose number is this?” But he was too busy partying to notice, so he just went back to having fun with his pals.
But the calls would not stop, and Tyler became very irritated as his phone continued to vibrate in his pocket.
When he finally answered, Tyler blew up on the phone, saying, “Who the hell is this?”
“Tyler… it’s me… Ricky.”
Tyler said to his younger brother, “Ricky? Whose number is this? What happened to your phone?”
“My phone’s battery is dead… Tyler, it’s MOM,” shakily said Ricky. “She’s was in a car accident.”
Tyler bolted from the boisterous tavern, his heart stopping.
His mind was racing with a million worst-case scenarios as he exclaimed, “Mom… WHAT? Oh no… What happened to mom? Is she alright??”
“Mom’s alright. But I’m still scared. Could you please come to the hospital?” replied Ricky.
Tyler realized every moment mattered. However, he grinned and rushed back to the pub to carry on the celebration after learning from his brother that their mother was fine.
Tyler finally made up his mind and called for a cab to the hospital two hours later. When his brother stormed into the hospital, yelling that they were looking for their mother’s ward, Ricky’s voice reverberated throughout the hallway.
Ricky angrily asked Tyler, “What took you so damn long?”
“Why do I seem so important now? Did you suddenly realize I’m your older brother… mom’s eldest son who deserved all her love and attention?” Tyler chided Ricky.
“You’re her favorite son, aren’t you? You’re always the first in everything… so why should I waste my time comin’ in early?”
“Are you out of your mind, Tyler? Mom’s admitted here. She’s had a terrible accident. You know what? You’re so sick… and selfish… that’s why everyone hates you!”
Tyler felt the sting of Ricky’s comments like a slap in the face. It crushed his ego to confess he was incorrect since he was so offended.
Tyler spit out, “Fine!” “I’m leaving… And don’t come to me for help with anything, okay? Let mom’s BELOVED son take care of her!”
Anger pouring in his veins, Tyler stormed out of the hospital. The feeling that his own brother might speak out against him persisted in his mind.
Gracie was lying on her hospital bed, worn out from having several operations. She had worked her way up to success in life, but now she would have to sell her beloved company due to the horrific automobile accident and the mounting medical expenses.
What hurt even more, though, was watching her two cherished boys drift apart. Gracie risked everything to raise her two children after her husband left her for another woman. She saw her sons as her only reason for living, thus she had no interest in falling in love again.
Ricky was Gracie’s rock during her hospital stay and even after she was released, so she forced herself to swallow her emotions. Frequently, he would take time off from college to be at her side and make sure everything was alright.
However, Tyler? Spending time with his disabled mother was not as important to him as going out on the town with his pals.
But one day Ricky got delayed for a big entrance exam, so he had to remain home and take care of his mother. Tyler did assist Gracie, but it wasn’t how she had planned.
While her son was occupied messaging his pals on his phone, Gracie said to him, “Oh, dear! Ricky has forgotten to get these medicines. Tyler, honey, could you please run to the drugstore?”
“Sweetie… I need to take these pills before lunch… Could you please…”
Tyler angrily asked Gracie, “What do you want, mom?” and took the prescription out of her hand.
“Who’ll give me the money? I don’t have money to get your medicines.”
“It’s in there,” Gracie remarked, passing Tyler the cabinet’s keys.
When she asked him to get her some water or to take her to the bathroom, he would get her the medication and would get quite agitated. Gracie was devastated when she saw Tyler’s expression of impatience and frustration.
“Gracie apologized for bothering you,” she said in response to Tyler’s yell for her to phone him once more.
“I didn’t expect my son would treat me this way.”
Tyler yelled, “Oh really?” at his mother. “What did you expect when you dumped me with grandma when I was a kid?”
Thinking back on her history, Gracie felt a dagger in her heart.
Ricky, Gracie’s second son, had barely been born when her ex-husband left her and the kids behind. As a result, she had brought Ricky to work while leaving her oldest son Tyler with his grandmother because he was still a newborn and required more care.
Tyler, though, found this to be somewhat annoying. He couldn’t help but provoke arguments with his older brother since he was envious of his little sibling. Furthermore, he never forgave Gracie because he believed she was favoritism toward his younger brother, whom he considered to be their mother’s golden child.
Tyler was unable to comprehend that a mother’s love for her children would never be divided.
Gracie would never chose to pick one eye and prick the other because her two sons were the source of her happiness.
With her lips dry and her words scarcely audible above a whisper, Gracie sobbed, “I didn’t abandon you.” Tyler had said something that had choked her.
“I worked hard day and night to feed the family… to keep the roof over our heads. To give you a good education. But you spent all the money from your college fund on your parties, girls… and friends.”
As Gracie finished her sentence, she experienced a searing agony. Gazing into Tyler’s eyes, she awaited a response to soothe her spirit.
“Yeah, whatever! When’s your pet coming home? I have some important work, and I need to go…”
Without waiting for his mother to complete her sentence, Tyler walked out of her room and fixed his gaze on her. If only Gracie had known that would be her final encounter with Tyler!
When Ricky got home that evening, his mother was sound sleeping. Tyler, though, was nowhere to be found.
Ricky reasoned that he must be out having fun with his pals, but something didn’t feel quite right, especially when he noticed his mother’s cabinet was slightly ajar.
When Ricky opened the cabinet and discovered that a sizable portion of Gracie’s money had been taken, his heart fell. That his own brother would act in such a manner astounded him.
Ricky called Tyler, but he didn’t get a response. Additionally, Tyler’s phone was off when he gave him another call.
Ricky was horrified to learn that his brother had taken their mother’s hard-earned money and disappeared.
“Gracie, wake up! Tyler has stolen your money and gone missing,” Ricky abruptly exclaimed, startling Gracie.
“I’m reporting him to the cops.”
To his surprise, though, his mother intervened and begged him to reconsider.
Gracie started crying, and a heavy stillness descended upon the room. It was her fault for having a careless son like Tyler. Nevertheless, she remained in love with him and could not fathom his being imprisoned.
“I don’t know how much time I have left… But I want to spend all the time I have with you before God calls me.”
The day Tyler vanished was three horrible years ago. And Gracie had cried every single day, pleading with God to bring him back… to retrieve her cherished son.
Gracie collected her shattered parts during these three years in order to face her destiny. The accident had altered the trajectory of her life. She had sold the company she had founded from the ground up, so she was unable to go back to work.
But then a hero showed up, and Gracie’s life took a drastic shift.
When Gracie first met Diana, her best friend, she was referred to a state-of-the-art treatment facility. Days later, Gracie’s condition became better, and with the help of yoga and her will to get up, she was able to stand again.
And as more time passed, Gracie became a yoga instructor at a gym. Everything appeared normal after Ricky enrolled in college, but Gracie never stopped searching for Tyler.
When her attempts were fruitless, she gave up and made the decision to go on. Gracie made the decision to concentrate on her life right now, hoping her son will return one day, since Tyler was an adult with control over his own life.
For three years, Tyler had persisted in her nightmares, pleading for her forgiveness and informing her that he was being punished for his wrongdoing. For Gracie, nothing made sense.
Though she considered such fears, the worst nightmare came that day when she saw her kid pleading for handouts.
Gracie’s tremulous voice surprised the homeless guy once more, bringing them both to attention. “Tyler… is it you?” she said.
In an attempt to hide his unclean face from her, the guy turned away.
However, how could Gracie fail to identify her son? When she learned that the man begging for money was, in fact, her son Tyler, a wave of anguish and pain came through her.
Gracie grabbed Tyler’s hand as he stood up to go, saying, “Wait… I know it’s you… STOP!”
With a voice cracking with passion, Tyler exclaimed, “Yeah, it’s me, mom!” as though he had been waiting for this moment to let his tears flow.
“I don’t deserve to even look at you. Please go. Don’t come near me.”
“No, I’m not leaving without you. What happened, sweetie? I looked for you everywhere… I even asked your friends, but nobody told me anything. What happened to you? I thought you would at least be happy…”
“I’m an awful son, mom. I don’t deserve your love… please go,” Tyler wept.
Gracie, however, remained unwavering in her need to know the truth and broke down in tears as Tyler finished her confession.
“I was afraid of wasting my youth looking after you when you were paralyzed. I stole some money and ran away. I had a great life with my friends and girlfriends. I partied every day, even went on cruises. But when my money ran out, all my friends started leaving one by one. I applied for a job as a janitor coz I couldn’t find anything else without a college degree. I had to take a medical test for that role.”
Tyler stopped, letting the tears flow freely.
Gracie was frightened and asked, “What happened, darling?”
“Everything was over after that one test, Mom. My whole life was ruined. I have AIDS, mom.”
Tyler’s words caused Gracie’s world to spin.
“I went to my friends and girlfriends asking for help. But they turned me away. I knew you and Ricky would still love me and take me in even if I told you I had AIDS. But I was so guilty and decided never to see you again,” Tyler said with tears flowing down his cheeks.
“Mom, are you still angry with me for leaving you?”
Holding Tyler’s hand, Gracie waved for a cab, “No! Life has already given you enough grief and regret. Come… let’s go home!”
“Mom? Are you serious? Are you taking me home with you? But I have AIDS.”
“Son, it’s just AIDS… you, however, are my son. My flesh and blood. How can I leave you on the road like this?”
As Tyler and his mother got into the taxi, tears welled up in their eyes and remorse pounded in their hearts. He was eager to see his younger brother, figuring that even he would give him a hearty smile. But Ricky’s abrupt return had left him furious.
Ricky was disappointed and said to Gracie, “Mom, he betrayed you. He just dumped you and disappeared in your hardest moment. I am not gonna agree with this. He’s not staying with us.”
Gracie, torn between Ricky’s rage and Tyler’s helplessness, sent Tyler out with enough cash to cover a motel stay. She needed time to make sure Tyler had a place to stay and to persuade Ricky.
“You’re out of your mind, mom. Just wait and watch! That bum will spend even this money on parties and beg on the streets again!” said Ricky.
Weeks passed, and Tyler never got in touch with Gracie again. She felt let down and questioned whether she had forgiven Tyler correctly.
She was annoyed when she saw Tyler outside a fancy restaurant one evening and realized Ricky was correct about his brother. Gracie raced over to greet him angrily, only to be taken aback by an emotional surprise.
Tyler cried, “Mom!” “I was just about to call you!”
Astonished, Gracie was shown to a seat in the restaurant where her favorite strawberry cake, chicken casserole, and champagne were waiting for her before she could even process what was happening.
“Happy birthday, mom! May you live long… and stay blessed. May that smile on your face never fade, and may God bless me with another chance to be born in your womb again!”
It turned out that Tyler had finally found work as a builder, and fortunately, his health concerns did not prevent him from being hired. He never had time to call or see his mother since he worked so hard, day and night. In addition, Tyler wanted to demonstrate his permanent transformation because he knew his younger brother was disappointed about his homecoming.
He had set aside some cash from his pay to plan his mother’s birthday celebration at the restaurant, and he had even extended an invitation to Ricky to attend.
After returning the money he had once stolen from his mother, Tyler raised a toast and said, “I don’t know how much time I have left… But I want to spend all the time I have with you before God calls me.”
Ricky and Gracie started crying. Their eyes were filled to brimming with tears, and something hurting, frightening, and yet joyful was crawling around in their souls.
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